


Touching a Human

by ThePinkTeenager



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Aliens with a sense of humor, Bad jokes about being short, But it’s an awkward alien hug he didn’t ask for, Diplomacy, Eventual Fluff, Four-armed Aliens, Gen, Keith (Voltron) Gets a Hug, Lance accidentally gets high on alien food, Language Barrier, No beta we die like lonely aliens, Prosthetic arms, Sick Character, Sparring, Touch-Starved, galra hybrids, why is that not a tag?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-13
Updated: 2021-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-13 16:07:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 13,835
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29404545
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThePinkTeenager/pseuds/ThePinkTeenager
Summary: A crew of aliens on a spaceship get a special message. The defenders of the universe invite them to stay on their ship. Unfortunately, only Tolika, the youngest of the crew, can accept the offer. Separated from her own species, she must learn how to live among humans and alteans. And they must learn how to live with her.
Relationships: Aliens & Voltron, Keith & Original Characters, Pidge | Katie Holt & Original Character(s)
Kudos: 5





	1. Two Arms

“Everyone in the conference room, now.” said Girulan, the leader of the ship. She didn’t need to tell her crew that it was urgent; we knew. 

Within minutes, all twelve aliens- they called themselves raq’iens- were in the conference room. Tolika was sitting in her usual spot next to Gh’esoko, the only other crew member from her country. He gave the impression of stoicism, but was one heck of a negotiator. He’d be useful if the situation was the kind you could talk through. 

Girulan spoke first. “The Guardian Lions have contacted us.” she said. 

Nobody was expecting that one. 

“The Guardian Lions? That’s an Altean myth!” exclaimed Zikewu, their animated mechanic. Several others agreed with him. 

Girulan gestures for them to be quiet. “That’s what I thought, too.” she said. “But no, they’re real. Our intel says that they’re from a planet called Ereth, which has not been conquered by the Galra.” She gestures to Niq’alo, who brings up a map. Ereth is surprisingly close to their home planet, Halawethu. The info box on the side of the map says that its star is a bit larger than our own and has several planets, but only one is habitable. 

“What is their species like?” Tolika asks. 

Niq’alo answers this time, having found the data. “They’re called hunans, apparently.” he says. “They are sentient-“ 

“Obviously.” says Krhilade. 

Niq’alo ignores her remark. “Prior to the rediscovery of the Guardian Lions, they were never seen outside their home solar system. They do, however, seem to have basic spacefaring technology. Biologically, they are somewhat taller than us and have one head, two eyes, two arms, and two legs.” 

The others all stared at him. “ _Two_ arms?” said Dasho, voicing everyone’s thoughts. 

“Yes.” said Girulan, staying remarkably calm as usual. “They appear to communicate using language, though they do not speak any of our languages.” 

“Fair enough.” said Gh’esoko. “We can use the translator.” 

Tolika was still in shock over the arm thing. The fact that she knew Galras have two arms didn’t stop her from wondering how these people could build spaceships- or cook a meal, for that matter. She had to use all four of hers just to make soup. 

“How did they find the Lions?” she asked. 

“The Water-Colored Lion was hidden on their planet.” answered their leader. “Apparently the Altean princess was in frozen sleep for ten thousand... a really long time.” She knew none of her crew members were familiar with Altean time. 

“Since the Galra destroyed Altea, probably.” said Krhilade. That had been in ancient times by raq’ien standards. 

“Tell us about the new Guardians.” said Jângu. 

“They are young,” said Girulan, “younger than Tolika, even. They haven’t been active for long.” 

“A yakal?” asked Tolika. That was one of Halawethu’s revolutions around its sun. 

“Much less.” said Niq’alo. 

Tolika was seriously concerned about the fate of the universe. She was the youngest crew member- only twenty-three yakals old. Normally, non-soldiers under 24 yakals stayed on Halawethu or worked on one of its three moons. Between that, the fact that they had only two arms, and the fact that they were fighting the freaking _Galra_ , they were doomed. 

“They invited us to a meeting.” said Girulan. “Headquarters has given us the go-ahead. What should we do?” 

This led to a long discussion. A few people thought it was a trap, but Niq’alo pointed out that the Guardians were outnumbered and inexperienced. Even if it was a trap, the crew could most likely escape it. Inviting the Guardians to their ship was not an option- the ship was too small. 

In the end, Girulan decided to go to the meeting and take most of the crew with her. Not everyone was happy with her choice, but they respected it. Only Lizun refused to go, and that was probably because of his dislike for such events. 

“I’ll stay with you.” said Jângu. “Just in case something happens to you or the ship.” 

“Or in case something happens to us and we can’t return.” quipped Zikewu. 

“That’s real optimistic of you.” said Krhilade. Tolika hissed at the sarcasm. 

“Tolika thinks it’s funny.” Niq’alo observed. 

“Alright, everyone.” announced Girulan. “I don’t mind your jokes, but we need to get going.” 

Dasho set the flight course and their ship flew toward the Guardian Lions’ ship. It was white and absolutely massive. Everyone except Lizun and Jângu stood in the hangar and waited for the door to open. When that happened, they stepped inside. 

The interior was just as white and massive as the outside. Tolika looked around at the ship. On only a very small number of occasions had she seen a ship this large.

The Guardians stood in front of her. The reports were right: they were quite tall and had two arms. Their arms and torsos were similar in size to Tolika’s, but their legs were so long that she wondered how they could walk on them. While the Guardians themselves were all hunan, the ship was also inhabited by two Alteans. Tolika tried not to think about the fact that they were the last of their people. 

“Hello.” said the female Altean. “My name is Prînses Allora.” 

Tolika froze. She understood those words, but they weren’t in her language. In fact, they weren’t in any raq’ien language. She only understood because her uncle had taught it to her. He was a linguist recording endangered alien languages, and he’d taught her one. By sheer luck, it was the same one she was hearing now. 

Tolika turned to Zikewu. “I can understand her.” she said. “My uncle taught me that language when I was a child.” 

“Seriously?” he asked. 

“Mostly.” she said. “I’m not great, but I can get a basic idea.” 

“Wow.” he said. “We’ll still use the translator, but we should discuss this afterwards.” 

The two groups introduced themselves. The Guardians had interesting names- Shirou, Lans, Kith, Pîj, and Hënk. The other Altean was named Koran. Tolika could pronounce all of their names except “Pîj”. That darn first consonant required her lips to stretch farther than they could actually go. The rest were doable, though they felt weird on her tongue. The Guardians struggled even more with her crew mates’ names; evidently they couldn’t click. Niq’alo, Krhilade, and Gh’esoko had their names wrecked, but at least the aliens could handle “Tolika”. 

Then Allora led them to come to the dining room. Evidently they were supposed to eat on a long table using metal tools. It was weird, but certainly not the weirdest eating custom Tolika had heard of. 

The food was fine, though everyone tested it to make sure it wasn’t poisoned. Their hosts made no comment on this. During the meal, the two groups talked through the translator. Tolika had a vague idea what was being said even without the translator, but she had to concentrate. 

Mostly, Gh’esoko and Girulan talk to Shirou and Allora while Tolika focused on the other Guardians. The Yellow Guardian, Hënk, was large and seemed to enjoy the food. The Emerald-Colored Guardian, Pîj, was closest to Tolika’s height and apparently female. She appeared very interested in their tech and tried to talk to them about it, but they only had one translator. The Water-Colored Guardian, Lans, was tall, thin, and talked a lot. The Red Guardian, Kith, was tall, thin, and quiet. 

Then Tolika heard something from Shirou. She caught “You like”, “stay”, “us”, and “here”. That was enough to pull her attention towards him.   
  
Girulan translated the sentence and everyone heard it. Shirou was asking them if they wanted to stay here at this place, which he called “thë Kasl”. After a short discussion, Girulan answered for all of them. 

“We appreciate your offer,” she said, “however, we must get approval from our superiors first. Once that is done, we will contact you.” 

This was an acceptable answer. The Guardians said goodbye and gave them a radio channel to contact them on. Then the raq’iens left and returned to their own ship. 

“How did it go?” asked Lizun. 

“Well.” said Gh’esoko. “The only problem is that they want one of us to live with them.” 

“You’ll need approval from headquarters for that.” said Lizun. 

“Exactly.” 

Tolika left the two men; she had other priorities. 

“Girulan,” she called, “I need to talk to you.” 


	2. Whatcha Say

“You speak their language?” asked Girulan. 

Tolika made an affirmative gesture. “Not enough to understand everything without the translator, but I know some.” 

“Learn something every day.” said Girulan. She herself spoke three languages, but was still impressed by Tolika. “I still need approval from headquarters, but if I get it, I know who I’m sending.” 

“Thanks?” said Tolika. She wasn’t sure if it was actually a compliment. 

“I am worried about your safety, though.” said the leader. “You’re the youngest in our crew, and we don’t know what their true intentions are. Maybe I’ll send Dasho and Jângu with you. They’re good fighters.” 

“Dasho might have his arm taken off.” Tolika points out, referring to his prosthetic hand. He could defeat Tolika even without the prosthetic, but fighting seven tall aliens was much harder. 

“True.” said Girulan. “And Jângu hasn’t met the Guardians yet. Go to bed; we’ll talk about this later.” 

Tolika was tired enough to follow that instruction. She said good night to her leader, went to her quarters, and fell asleep. 

* * *

Headquarters approved the mission, but no more than half the crew could go. Tolika would be one of those, as she was the only one who could speak to the Guardians without a translator. Who else could go was a matter of much debate. Girulan put her foot down and said that they had two sukus to decide. That meant Tolika had two sukus to learn as much of the alien language as she could. She really wished she had more time, but this was what she had to work with. 

During that time, somebody realized that they only had one translator. Well, technically they had two, but one was broken. Zikewu and Niq’alo tried to fix it, but they couldn’t.   
  
“The translator’s still not fixed.” said the latter. “We need the other one here in case someone contacts us.” 

“But that means nobody can go with me.” said Tolika. She had hoped this was not the case, but it was. 

“I’m sorry, Tolika.” said the mechanic. 

“You’ll be alone.” said Krhilade. Tolika could hear the distress in her voice. 

“I won’t be alone.” she said. “I’ll be with seven tall, two-armed aliens.” 

“Is that better or worse?” asked Gh’esoko. 

“Depends on whether or not they’re hostile.” said Dasho. 

Girulan handed Tolika a radio. “If anything happens, call us.” she said. 

Tolika took the radio. “You’ll be there?” she asked. 

“Of course.” 

Niq’alo held out his upper hands. “An attack on one is an attack on us all.” he said. Though they were from different cultures, Tolika knew that phrase. 

She held out her own hands. “An attack on one is an attack on us all.” she said. The radio was still safely in her lower left hand. She let go of Zikewu and left, taking their wishes of good luck with her. 

* * *

The Guardians were expecting her. The Black one, Shirou, was waiting for her in the hangar bay. He started talking to her, but she only understood maybe a quarter of his words. Then she heard “your name”. 

“Tolika.” she said. 

“Nice to meet you.” he said. Tolika remembered that phrase. 

They left the hangar bay. Shirou found the Yellow Guardian and told him something about Tolika and the Kasl. The Yellow Guardian- Tolika remembered his name was Hënk- bobbed his head and walked over to her. 

“Shirou wants me _____ you around.” he said. “Come.” 

Tolika didn’t know what Shirou wanted, but she followed Hënk. 

He showed her the various rooms in the Kasl. She managed to get an idea of what the various rooms were- bedrooms, a dining room, an infirmary, and a training room. She also saw the other Guardians doing their daily tasks. She’d have to figure out the meanings of their gestures at some point. 

Hënk showed her a room at the end of a hall. “This is yours.” he said. “Put your stuff _____ and get _______. Lunch is in ______.” 

Tolika spoke. “What you want... ni get and... where is lunch?” she asked. 

Hënk explained that she didn’t need to get anything and lunch was... well, she didn’t really understand the lunch part. She’d have to figure that out later. 

She spent the rest of the day getting used to the new setting. It wasn’t a bad ship, really, just unfamiliar. Her new room didn’t have much except a bed, a small table, and a storage area. She unpacked her things and put them in the storage area, then sat on the bed. So far, so good. 

The first time she left the room, it was to use the bathroom. Luckily, she knew how to ask where the bathroom was. Lans made a gesture which she guessed signaled the direction the bathroom was in. She thanked him and found it. 

Later, Koran knocked on her door and said something about lunch. She got up and followed him to the dining room. It had changed since last time, probably because it no longer needed to accommodate ten guests. Still, it was intimidating to be in a room with all seven of them. They were so tall and it was hard to communicate with them. Still, they were polite(as far as she could tell) and gave her food and water. The food was barely recognizable as food, and Tolika might’ve been offended if they hadn’t also given it to themselves. She ate the stuff anyway. At least it wasn’t poisonous. 

After lunch, she looked around the ship. There were a lot of rooms here, but most of them were empty. Tolika had the feeling this place was intended to hold more than seven people. It was still nice to know where things were. 

She even found the Lions. Really, they were so huge that it was hard to miss them. Tolika knew they were big, but she didn’t know just _how_ big. The Black Lion alone was bigger than her ship! She wondered what real lions looked like; they were not one of Halawethu’s many native animals. 

The last meal- dinner- was more or less the same affair as lunch, except that everyone was a little tired. At one point, Pîj asked Tolika a question. 

Tolika looked up. “What you say?” she asked. 

Pîj repeated the question more slowly. “What do you think of the Kasl?” she asked. 

Tolika understood most of that sentence. “Okay.” she said. “Big. I no know it.” She knew her grammar was off, but it was the best she could do. 

That night, Tolika slipped into her bed. For a day spent in an unfamiliar ship with tall aliens that didn’t speak her language, it had gone well. 


	3. Faraway Brothers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was too short originally, so I added the radio scene.

Over the next few sukus, life settled into a new routine. Tolika figured out when the Guardians ate, slept, and trained. Their daily cycle was based on something shorter than a suku, which was difficult to adjust to. At first, Tolika had a serious case of jet lag, often sleeping through meals or staying awake long after the others had gone to sleep. She knew things would eventually settle, but it was disorienting. 

One night, Tolika couldn’t sleep. She hadn’t even been awake long enough to be tired. So she got up and wandered around the ship. 

It turned out that she wasn’t the only one awake. Pîj was sitting in the lounge, working on an electronic device. 

“Hey Pîj.” said Tolika. She had finally figured out how to say that word using her tongue. 

Pîj looked at her. “Can’t sleep?” she asked. 

“No.” said Tolika. 

“______ can I.” said Pîj. What she meant was clear from the context. 

Tolika sat on the couch next to the human girl. As far as she could tell, Pîj was the youngest Guardian, though they were all young. It was possible she hadn’t even finished growing yet. 

“What you doing?” asked Tolika. 

Pîj launched into a long explanation that Tolika didn’t fully understand. It had something to do with the Galra and searching for something called “Mat”. 

“Mat?” asked Tolika, trying her best to say the alien word. 

Pidge bobbed her head. “My brother.” she said. “He _______ by the Galra when I ___ thirteen.” she said. 

Tolika didn’t know what happened to Mat, but she knew it wasn’t good. She realized Pîj was looking for her brother. That seemed like what Tolika would do if something happened to one of her own brothers. 

“Old or young?” she asked. 

Pîj made a weird noise. “Older than me.” she said. “_____ twenty-one now. I’m fifteen.” 

Tolika wasn’t sure what that meant in human terms, but she knew that fifteen yakals was nearly an adult by raq’ien standards. 

“I hathe ruthers... two ruthers.” she said. “Older. And two sisters older.” 

Pîj gave her a weird look, but didn’t ask what she meant. 

Tolika leaned over. Not surprisingly, she couldn’t read anything on the screen. But she could feel Pîj’s shoulder under her arm.

It was the first time she’d touched any of the Guardians. Normally, she would assume there was some rule against touching a Guardian, but Lans and Hënk did it all the time. Of course, the rules were different for them. But that wasn’t going to stop Tolika at this point. 

It is extremely difficult for a raq’ien to live without touch. Sure, some have tried, but eventually their bodies and minds hurt and crack. Thousands of years of scientific research had not found a way around that. Actually, Dasho’s prosthetic arm worked fairly well, but only when he was wearing it. Luckily, anyone who searched hard enough for another person’s touch would ultimately find it. 

Tolika needed it more often than most of her crew mates. They’d figured that out fairly early on. The others were willing enough to touch her. Personal boundaries start to fade away after living in a big metal box with eleven other people for months on end. But she had only known the Guardians for a short time and they weren’t raq’iens. She hadn’t dared to touch them. 

The situation was far from ideal, but it least nothing hurt yet. Okay, maybe it hurt a little... well, everywhere. Never mind, this was worse than she thought. Hopefully Pîj could fix that problem. 

Tolika put one of her upper arms on Pîj’s, letting the lower one slide next to her leg. 

The Guardian turned from her computer and looked at Tolika. “What are you doing? she asked. 

“Touch you.” said Tolika. 

“Why?” 

Tolika had numerous possible answers to the question, and most of them were mediocre at best. “Why no?” she asked. 

“Because I’m ________ work on _______ Mat and we _______ like, a ________ and it’s kinda ______ you having four arms and all.” 

“Hey!” she said, holding up her four arms. “No wrong with them.” 

“That’s not what I _____.” said Pîj. “It’s ___... a ____ feeling.”   
  
Tolika wasn’t sure what she was saying. “Good or bad?” she asked. 

“The feeling? It’s... okay.” said the human. She didn’t flinch as Tolika gently felt her hand. It had four fingers instead of three, but was warm like a raq’ien. She could feel hard things- bones, probably- under Pîj’s skin. Skin which was almost completely devoid of hair, fur, or fuzz. 

Pîj shifted and stood up. “I gotta go to bed.” she said. “Good night.” 

“Good might.” said Tolika. 

After Pîj left, Tolika realized that her arm didn’t hurt at all. 

* * *

Tolika pressed the call button on her radio. “Hey, is anyone there?” she said in her language. After trying to speak an alien language all day, this was a relief. 

“Tolika?” It was Zikewu’s voice. “Hey girl, how are things going up there?” 

“It’s hard.” she said. “I don’t speak their language, don’t know their customs, don’t even have the same sleep cycle as they do... last night I was up at some ungodly time, so I sat in the lounge with the Emerald-Colored Guardian.” 

“Was she awake?” he asked. 

“Yeah.” she said. “Working on some sort of tech project like someone I know.”   
  
Zikewu hissed; he must’ve known that Tolika was referring to him. “Apparently that’s more widespread than we thought.” 

“She told me some stuff about herself.” Tolika continued. “She’s fifteen, though I don’t know what that means in human terms. Her words were hard to understand, but she said something about looking for her brother and the Galra.” 

Neither of them needed more information to know what that meant. “Poor kid.” said Zikewu. 

Pretty much everyone knew someone who’d lost somebody or something to the Galra. In fact, Tolika joined the crew because one of their members was captured by them. Dasho has lost his arm and nearly lost his life fighting a Galra soldier. Girulan’s father was killed several yakals ago; she kept a picture of him in her room on the ship. Whenever the casualty lists came out, Tolika scanned them, praying that her brothers’ names were not on them. 

“Do you think he’s dead?” Tolika was almost afraid to ask the question. 

“Who knows?” said Zikewu. “Sometimes they enslave captives or do experiments on them. One of my friends knew a guy who has forced to fight other captives.” 

None of that sounded much better than being dead to Tolika. 

“Hey, if her brother’s not dead, there’s a chance someone will find him and bring him back.” said Zikewu. “It has been done before.” 

He was right. Maybe someone would free him along with all the other captives she knew. “We can always hope.” she said. “Good night.” 

“Good night.” 

Tolika turned off the radio. Someday Mat and the other captives would be free. If they were really lucky, the Galra empire would be destroyed. The odds were small, but with the Guardian Lions active, it was not impossible. 


	4. Human Biology for Aliens

As she spent more and more time with the Guardians, Tolika noticed a few things. First, they had two forward-facing eyes. She already knew that, of course, but what she didn’t realize is that they were also colorblind. 

Tolika also had forward-facing eyes, but she had three of them. Two were close to where the aliens’ eyes were, though a bit farther apart. The third was smack in the middle of her forehead. The third eye’s vision wasn’t as accurate, but it allowed her to see light that would otherwise be invisible. She just assumed that in humans, that function was taken over by the remaining eyes. 

Then one day, she was making food with Hënk. He had a recipe out and was trying to follow it. Tolika was not familiar with this food, but she wasn’t sure Hënk was, either. 

When the food came out of the oven, it looked almost the same as the picture. Almost. 

The kitchen window blocked some UV light, but not all. Tolika’s third eye was pretty much permanently dilated at this point so she could see what remained. Thus, she could see the familiar tinting of light just beyond purple mixed with the pale green of the food. 

“Hënk, you think we messed up?” she asked. 

“I followed the recipe exactly.” he said. “Why?” 

“They’re wrong... color.” She pointed to the picture. 

He gave her a look. “Looks the same to me.” 

“You no see it?” she asked. 

“See what?” 

Tolika stared at him, then the cookies, then back at him. What the heck was he seeing... or rather, _not_ seeing. Did he really think the food looked exactly like the picture? Yes, it was similar, but the color was off. The picture didn’t have that tint. 

“Koran!” shouted Hënk. When nothing happened, he ran out of the kitchen. Confused, Tolika followed him. The two found Koran working on some electrical stuff in the hall. 

It turned out that humans and Alteans couldn’t see UV light. Thus, the picture didn’t have and UV-reflecting pigment on it even though the food itself did. Koran himself took one look at the food and declared it fine. It didn’t taste too bad, either. 

They did have to be careful about the food, since certain foods were fine for some species but poisonous to others. Luckily, there were no accidental poisonings, but there was one surprisingly funny incident that came close. 

When she left her ship, Tolika had brought a small red fruit called x’asudê. It was one of her favorites, and though her ship had lots of dried x’asudê, she doubted the Altean ship would have any. 

One day, she was sitting in the kitchen, eating x’asudê when Lans came in and asked what she was eating. 

“X’asudê.” she answered plainly. “It’s thrum Halawethu. You want it?” 

“Sure.” said Lans. Tolika offered him a handful and he ate it. Tolika was still baffled by how far the humans could bend their elbows forwards.

Lans then did what Tolika guessed was an attempt at flirting with her. She didn’t know much about humans, their language, or their culture, but she knew quite a bit about straight men. If he was indeed flirting with her, he’d be the first alien to do so. Tolika glared at him and left. 

After that,Tolika almost forgot about giving him the fruit. Actually, there was only one reason she didn’t forget about it completely. 

It started when Lans ran into the hall with his weapon, followed by an angry Kith. “Lans, what are you doing?” shouted the latter. 

Lans started talking so fast that Tolika didn’t know if even Kith understood a word he said. There was something off about him. If she looked closely, she could see that his eyes were nearly consumed in black. 

Kith told her to get Shirou, which she did. Shirou was working on his Lion and asked what was going on. Lacking the vocabulary to describe it, Tolika simply imitated Lans. Evidently that was enough, because Shirou stopped what he was doing and ran after her. 

Lans had not calmed down. In fact, he was dancing. Shirou tried to ask him some questions. When that didn’t work, he asked Kith. Kith apparently didn’t have enough answers, so Shirou turned to Tolika. 

“When was the last time you saw him?” he asked. Tolika could understand him better now. 

“This morning.” she said. Realizing Shirou wanted more, she continued. “At the kitchen. I eated x’asudê and he asked thor it.” 

“What’s kasuday?” asked Shirou. 

Tolika ignored the fact that he was mispronouncing it. “I show you.” she said. 

She led him to the kitchen, where her leftover x’asudê was safely tucked in a shelf. 

Shirou examined the fruit. “Is this from Halawethu?” he asked. 

“Yes.” said Tolika. 

Shirou said something about Koran running and somebody not eating the fruit. Tolika decided not to ask any questions. 

A few days later, everyone received news. Apparently Koran had done something that showed that the x’asude had made Lans act weird. Tolika was surprised; it never affected her own people like this. But then again, these were two-armed, long-legged, colorblind aliens from Earth. Anything could happen. 


	5. Small but Mighty

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I may change the rating to Teen because of this chapter. It’s not super graphic, but there’s (human and alien) blood and a training fight.

When she woke up, Tolika had a message on her radio. Some emergency had forced her crew to leave for another planet. They didn’t even have the time to get her before leaving. That was fine; she had the Guardians to take care of her. She could take care of herself. 

Later, she saw Lans and Kith preparing to train. Without warning, she followed them into the training room. 

“I can train with you guys?” she asked. 

“Why?” asked Kith. 

“I sleep in your house and eat your thood.” she said. “Why no train?” 

The boys looked at each other. “Okay.” said Lans. “You’ll need a ______.” He pointed to a box in the corner. Tolika opened it and found a small collection of swords, guns, shields, and some sort of whip. Not wanting to shoot herself in the face, she picked a sword and shield. On second thought, Lans was much taller than her and holding a rifle- she should get two swords. 

Tolika went into the training area with a sword in each left arm and a shield in her right. Lans and Kith stared wide-eyed at her. Apparently they hadn’t seen many raq’ien sword-fighters. 

The key to fighting with two swords was coordination. Luckily, Tolika was pretty good at that. Even before she’d learned sword-fighting, she’d been very good at using multiple hands simultaneously to do something. She was by no means an expert fighter, but she could do some damage if she wanted to. 

“You have four arms _and_ you’re left-____? That’s not fair!” complained Lans. 

“War with the Galra is no thair.” Tolika retorted. 

“First person to hit their _______ wins.” said an annoyed Kith. That meant Tolika only needed to make a single cut. 

The fight was on. Lans fired at Tolika, but she dodged his attacks. Unlike him, she’d have to get close to strike. She moved closer to him, blocking his shots. She was really glad she’d chosen to use a shield. 

The distance between them was roughly her height. It was hard to dodge the shots when the gun was so close. Knowing she couldn’t get any closer, she threw her lower sword at his leg. It hit and the side got stuck in his flesh. A red liquid trickled down- blood, probably, though it was a weird color. 

Tolika dropped her other sword and shield, rushed over to him, and tried to pull the sword out. It left a long cut that would likely need bandaging. 

“I can’t _____ I lost to a girl.” said Lans. 

“So what?” asked Tolika. Yes, raq’ien girls were somewhat smaller than their male counterparts, but they weren’t worse fighters. They simply had a different fighting style- one that emphasized agility and finding weak spots rather than sheer strength. Though in this case, the height difference alone was reason for humiliation. 

“If my brothers saw this, they would ________ me.” he said. Tolika didn’t know the verb he used, but she could make an informed guess. Apparently siblings competing over stuff was universal. 

Kith came over and bandaged Lans’ wound. Then Lans left and Kith turned to Tolika. 

“You tired?” he asked. 

“No.” said Tolika. That hadn’t been an easy fight, but it hadn’t been particularly draining, either. 

“Wanna _________ against me?” he asked, holding up his weapon. It was in its dormant form now- a simple hand grip with two sides. 

“Sure.” she said. 

Kith went to the center of the arena and his weapon turned into a sword. Since he was using a sword, Tolika decided to drop her shield. Even without that, it was one sword against two. Seeing as her head was at the same level as his chest, she’d have to watch out for head strikes. 

The height difference was an issue for Kith, too. It wasn’t long before he resorted to partially squatting to block her swords. She tried to strike his legs, but he was stopping her from getting close. 

The fight continued. Kith seemed to be struggling, but he wouldn’t give up. It was as if his only goal was to keep her swords off of him. As the fight went on, she was reminded of stores from her brothers and the ex-military members of her crew. Though she rarely saw it in person, she’d heard of fighters like this. Actually, one specific group of fighters... 

“Who trained you,” she asked, “Galra?” 

Kith looked mildly offended. “No.” he said. His sword hit Tolika’s upper one. She tried throwing her lower one, but Kith saw it coming and jumped away. Great; now she had one less sword. 

A short time later, she felt something cut the side of her head. “You win.” she said, not wanting him to cut deeper. 

Kith stood back and picked up the sword she’d thrown during the fight. She grabbed it and sat down. Kith’s own sword was marked with Tolika’s rusty-orange blood. She heard Pîj shouting excitedly. Then the girl came over and asked if Tolika wanted to train with her. 

“Hey,” said the raq’ien, “someone my size!” 

“Yeah, I get it.” said Pîj, “I’m short. Is that a yes or a no?” 

It was a yes. 

Tolika still had her swords, but Pîj had a small curved blade. It didn’t look like a projectile, so this would probably be another melee fight. 

Sometimes small things are deceptively dangerous. Like female raq’ien fighters, for example. Tolika figured Pîj’s weapon was either throwable or it hit really hard. Either way, she needed to steer clear of that edge. 

She did not expect the cord. 

Pîj’s weapon shot out a glowing green cord. Tolika was surprised, but managed to cut it. Then it was just a matter of dodging her strikes. 

Tolika’s sword was londer than Pîj’s weapon. With the cord cut, she could use that to her advantage. She reached up and struck Pîj’s right arm. 

At some point during all this, Lans had returned with Hënk. Somehow, it was arranged that Hënk would fight Tolika while Lans and Kith would fight each other. 

Like Lans, Hënk had a gun. His was even bigger than Lans’, but not as mobile. Tolika could use that to her advantage. 

Hënk was huge- even bigger than the other two boys. Normally, that combined with the gun would mean Tolika was screwed, but her fight with Lans suggested otherwise. She grabbed her shield, a move that Hënk did not object to, and stood in the middle of the room. 

As Tolika predicted, Hënk’s gun was not easy to move. That meant that she’d have to move a lot to avoid getting hit. She realized the hardest spot for him to hit was right under the gun. So she ran towards him, dodging his shots, and thrust her lower left arm out. It hit between his legs. 

“Oww!” he screamed.

“Sorry!” said Tolika. She must’ve hit harder than she thought. By her estimate, it should just barely be enough force to draw blood. Maybe that was a sensitive spot in humans. 

Lans and Kith stopped fighting to see what was going on. They winced in sympathy for Hënk’s pain. 

Hënk himself quickly left the room; evidently he didn’t want to take his pants off in front of everyone. Tolika herself would’ve done the same rather than exposing her butt to a bunch of aliens. She, Lans, and Pîj had bandages on their cuts.   
  


The fact that she won both excited and worried Tolika. Excited because, well, she won. Worried because these were the Guardians of the universe, and three of them were defeated by someone with no formal training. She’d been taught by her friends and brother, and while she was decent, she was nowhere near the best. Heck, a third of her crew was better than she was. If she could defeat the Guardians, then what chance did they have against the Galra? 


	6. Touch Me

About a suku after her training fights with the Guardians, Tolika got sick... again. Judging by her symptoms, it was probably a respiratory infection. Whatever it was, it was worse than the last one she got on the Kasl. She decided to go to the infirmary this time. 

This was unplanned, but not really a surprise. In fact, before she even went into the Kasl, Tolika had been given a drug to prevent infection. Apparently it had worn off. She should head to the infirmary later. 

Koran was busy doing something else, so she waited in the infirmary for a while. While there, she found herself wondering when she’d last been touched. She’d put the bandage on herself when Kith cut her, so that didn’t count. Lans had touched her hand before that, but that was a few sukus ago. Aside from that... 

_Too long_ , she thought. She had no way of proving it, but the fact that everything hurt was a convincing clue. The lack of contact probably messed up her immune system- that was a thing among raq’iens. Hence, why she was sitting in the infirmary, waiting for Koran to finish whatever he was doing and treat her. 

When Koran finally showed up, Tolika was both relieved that he was there and mad that it had taken so long. He examined her, stuck a small white stick up her nose, and ran some tests. She sat in the infirmary while that happened. Eventually, he diagnosed her with something (Tolika didn’t know exactly what) and prescribed two yellow pills twice a quintant. She had to ask what a quintant was before leaving. 

Now that she had done that, Tolika could work on the touch problem. Her attempts at touching the Guardians or the Alteans had resulted in weird looks from them, and that was _before_ she got sick. Going back to her own ship was no longer an option. Her best bet was waiting until the infection had cleared, then... well, she’d think of something. 

That something came to her in the lounge. Her sickness was better, though she still wasn’t healthy. Four of the Guardians were off doing some important task, and she had no idea where Allora and Koran were. The only other person in the lounge was Kith. He was sitting on the opposite side of the room, having recently come in. She wondered why he was here of all places, but it didn’t matter. 

Tolika had been around the Guardians long enough to notice a few things. Shirou led, Pîj loved messing with tech, Hënk cooked quite a bit, Lans tried to flirt with her and Allora, and Kith never touched anyone. That last one should’ve been a signal to Tolika that he didn’t _want_ to be touched. Unfortunately, she was touch-starved, recovering from an illness, and possibly not thinking straight. 

Tolika crossed the room and sat on the other couch. It was a little hard to get on with her short legs, but doable. When they were both sitting, the top of her head was level with his chin. Kith noticed, but didn’t move or speak. 

Then her arm started moving toward him and she made no effort to stop it. Right now, she wanted nothing more than to feel someone in her light brown hand. If he didn’t get up and leave, Kith would be that someone. 

He didn’t get up. 

Tolika touched his arm. She should’ve stopped there, but she had lost all self-restraint. Within moments, all of her arms were on Kith. Two of her arms were sandwiched between him and the couch; his bones pressed against her own in places. His body heat radiated through his clothes. He smelled like a human.

It was obvious that Kith had never done this before. He became tense, and Tolika thought she should leave. Then he relaxed. Tolika let her hand press into his wrist and felt something strangely familiar- a heartbeat. 

She noticed his other arm was behind her shoulders. So he didn’t mind her touch. In that case, why was he so hesitant to touch the others? Tolika couldn’t answer that question. Whatever the answer was, it didn’t change the fact that he was touching her. She was touching him, a human. 

Her arms were starting to go numb from being squished. She wriggled them out from under him, but didn’t move away. Then she noticed that Kith had gone limp. 

“Kith,” she said, “you okay?” 

“I’m fine.” he mumbled. 

Tolika tried to figure out what was causing this. He could still talk, so he wasn’t unconscious. This didn’t happen to the other humans when they touched each other or the raq’iens she’d touched back home. Well, a drop in muscle tension sometimes happened, but not this. He felt like he would topple over if she let go. Maybe it was something she’d done without realizing it. 

She decided to ask. “Why you... sleep?” She couldn’t find a better word. 

“I’m not asleep.” said Kith. 

“This is.” said Tolika, gently poking his stomach. 

“Oh, that?” I don’t know.” he said. “Nobody really touches me _____ Shirou, so I _____ never noticed.” 

Wait, did he really say... 

Tolika looked at him almost pitifully. “Nobody touches you?” she squeaked. She’d just recently learned the word “nobody”. 

Kith shook his head. “Like I said, it’s just Shirou, and he doesn’t do it too ____. The others didn’t know me _______ back at the _______- back on Erth.” he clarifies. “I was one of the best fighter pilots in my ____.” he said. 

“Thighter pilot?” asked Tolika . 

Kith nodded and explained what that meant. 

“Like Dasho.” said Tolika quietly. 

“Who’s Dasho?” asked Kith. 

“One... one uh the pilots.” she said. “But we touch him and Ngeri.” 

Ngeri was the other pilot. She was a bit younger than Dasho and came from the civilian world. Tolika liked her. 

“That’s not why they don’t touch me.” he said. 

“Why?” asked Tolika. She sounded like a child, but she truly wanted to understand. 

“I... don’t like it.” he said. Something made Tolika think he was lying, but she didn’t know why. She decided not to push it. 

“Sorry.” she said. 

“It’s okay.” said Kith. Tolika had no way of knowing if he was really okay. 


	7. Metal and Skin

While Tolika was sick, the others had been fighting the Galra. First, they got attacked on Olkarion. Then Galra forces tracked down and attacked the Kasl, forcing them into a cosmic storm. Then some crucial piece of equipment broke. Tolika felt bad that the only helpful thing she could do during all this was hold up lenses while Koran shot a giant laser at them. She didn’t really understand that situation- she was just glad she didn’t die. 

The good news was that they hadn’t lost any lives or ships. The bad news was that they were being tracked, they couldn’t form wormholes, and Tolika’s crew was in another galaxy. Defending the universe was no easy task. 

Tolika wanted to actually be helpful for once. So she made a list of every piece of tech that could be bugged and checked them. The Kasl itself was checked by Allora. Tolika’s radio had a tracker, but that data went directly to the ship. Besides, the Galra Empire couldn’t care less about her whereabouts. The Lions would be checked by their pilots. Pîj and Hënk had checked every other device on the ship... except one. 

Shirou had a prosthetic arm, but his was designed differently than Dasho’s. First of all, it was a right arm instead of a left. Tolika didn’t know who made it, but it wasn’t raq’ien technology. The arm was extremely durable and could get hot enough to cut metal. Dasho’s arm was certainly durable, but attempting to heat it like that would hurt him. She guessed Shirou couldn’t feel pain in his prosthetic, and had no idea if he felt anything at all. 

Despite being similar in basic functionality, the two metal arms had different purposes. Dasho’s arm was covered in sensors from the end of his natural limb onward. If somebody touched his hand, he would feel it. He said that when his prosthetic was damaged, he felt pain where his flesh arm used to be. He treated it not as a tool, but as an extension of his own body. 

Shirou’s arm was a weapon. 

Tolika worked up the courage to ask him about it. “Shirou?” she asked.   
  
“Yeah?” he responded.   
  
“What’s in your arm?” 

“The pros- right one?” he asked. Tolika nodded. “Well, there’s _____, wires, ______________, a computer...” 

Computer. Tolika knew that word from spending hours with Pîj. If his arm had a computer, that meant it could be hacked. 

“I think the Galra thinding us with your arm.” she said. 

Shirou looked at her. “Really?” he said. 

“It has computer, yes?” she said. 

“Huh... I’ll ask Pîj to scan it.” he said. 

Tolika reached her hand out. “Can I touch?” she asked. 

“Sure.” said Shirou. 

Tolika put her hand on his arm. It was metal and cool to the touch. Dasho’s arm was mostly metal, but it had a thin coating of silicone that made it feel somewhat like a real arm. Shirou’s arm felt more like a robot. 

Without thinking, Tolika put a different hand on his other arm. She knew she shouldn’t have done that. He was the leader of the Guardians, not a crew mate. Then again, she’d hugged Kith barely a suku ago. Her desire for touch was getting the best of her. 

“That one’s real.” he said, unoffended. 

Tolika looked up at the tall man. “I know.” she said. 

* * *

It was supposed to be a simple rescue mission. The team had gone to the nearest planet on their Galra locating algorithm, only to discover that it had already been attacked. The only thing they could do was rescue its surviving inhabitants. 

Then everything changed when a Galra fleet attacked. 

Somehow, Tolika ended up in a miniature ship, firing a gun she’d just learned how to use. Kith had left earlier with Allora, and the other Guardians were fighting on Taujeer. As usual, Koran was in the ship. 

Tolika shot down many of the small Galra ships, but there were hundreds. She remembered what she’d said to Lans before they sparred: it wasn’t a fair fight. Even with four Lions, the Kasl, and an untrained raq’ien with an energy cannon, they were outnumbered. 

A flash of red appeared in the sky. The Red Lion. Kith. Allora was probably in the cockpit with him. That meant they were slightly less outnumbered.

The five Lions joined together to form an utterly massive robot. They called it “Voltron”. _Why couldn’t they name it something I can pronounce?_

Pronounceable or not, Tolika had to admit it was impressive. The head and torso were black, the right arm was red, the left arm was emerald, the right leg was the color of the sea, and the left leg was yellow. All five reflected UV light, making them look even more spectacular. Of course, it would’ve been even better if it had four arms, but there were only five Lions. 

The extra arms may not have been necessary. Voltron was causing heavy damage to the main Galra ship. All five parts coordinated every movement, every dodge, and every laser blast. Tolika had seen the Lions before, but she had never seen this. 

Once the Galra ship was defeated, the Lions separated and returned to the Kasl. When Tolika got there, they were congratulating each other in the halls. Tolika was swept into the little celebration. Hearing what she’d done, Hënk bent down and hugged her. 

And she hugged him back. 


	8. Never Alone

“Tolika,” said Krhilade, “I have bad news.” 

“How bad?” she asked. 

“Chuxha, Dasho, Zikewu, and Lizun were captured.” answered the older woman. 

That was really bad. “Can you get them out?” asked Tolika. 

“We’re working on a plan now.” said Krhilade. “If that doesn’t work, we’ll call you. What’s happening over there?” 

“Equipment failure.” she said. “It’s not critical, but we... we’re comprised without it. Apparently the part we need can only be bought at some space market. We’ll be there in about a suku.” 

Ngeri spoke. “Are you telling me that while we sneak into a Galra prison, you’re gonna go _shopping_?” 

“It’s black market shopping.” said Tolika. “And I don’t have any money here anyways.” 

“Right.” she said. “We miss you, Tolika.” 

Tolika’s heart warmed slightly. “I know.” she said. 

Someone knocked on her door. “Hey,” said Hënk, “who are you talking to?” 

“My crew.” answered Tolika, annoyed. This wasn’t the first time someone had interrupted her call. 

Hënk started to leave, but suddenly Tolika didn’t want him too. She held up her hand, telling him to wait while she said goodbye to the women. Then she turned around and hugged him. 

Hënk wrapped his arms around her and squeezed. Unlike Lans, Hënk never held back to avoid hurting her. That was fine; raq’iens were small, but by no means fragile. 

* * *

Ever since the incident with Kith, Tolika had been more assertive about touching the others. Sure, it was awkward and probably broke diplomatic protocol, but she didn’t want to end up in the infirmary again. So she figured out who, when, where, and how she could touch. 

Lans and Hënk, it turned out, were massive cuddlers. They would pretty much cuddle with any willing creature in sight, including Tolika. If she told them she needed a hug, they would give it to her, no questions asked. Pîj, Shirou, and the Alteans were more hesitant, but they accepted an occasional pat or hand squeeze. Being touched by any of them felt different then being touched by a raq’ien, but she was getting used to it. 

She hadn’t touched Kith again. She wasn’t intentionally avoiding him- the opportunity just didn’t present itself. It was possible _he_ was avoiding _her_ , though. He seemed to be pretty touch-averse, which was fine... except that if humans were like raq’iens, he could be suffering. 

Of course, humans weren’t raq’iens. They were too tall, their legs were too long, and they only had one set of arms and two eyes, but two extra fingers. They lacked a tail, and the men lacked the hair spikes that growing raq’ien boys were so proud of. Neither of those things had much practical use, but it was still weird to see them gone. They laughed and x’asudê made them act weird. They also had this weird thing about independence and fighting girls that made no sense to Tolika. 

So yes, humans were definitely alien. But for all their differences, in some ways they were just like raq’iens. 

Tolika had no idea if humans could be touch-starved, but she knew who might. 

“Pîj,” she said, “do humans need touch?” 

The girl looked up from her computer. “Are you asking if we need to touch _____ other?” she asked. “Like, other people?” 

Tolika nodded. 

Pîj made a faint noise. “Yes and no.” she said, confusing Tolika. 

“Huh?” said the raq’ien. 

“Humans have this thing called skin hunger.” Pîj explained. “It’s the na- oh, who am I ______, you of all people know what it is. Well, anyway, if you don’t _____ it, you- we- can become touch-starved.”

“What’s that mean?” asked Tolika.

“Well, “starved” means dying of hunger- because you’re mot eating enough.” she explained. “So it’s really a _______.” 

“That is yes.” said Tolika. 

“It’s not that simple.” said Pîj. “Some people just don’t like being touched. Others are...” Tolika had some difficulty understanding Pîj’s rambling words. “And hey, it works for them.” 

“What about Kith?” asked Tolika. 

“Kith isn’t a people person.” said Pîj. She then had to explain what that meant. “In ___, he lived alone in a _____ in the _____ for a year before we found Shirou.” 

“A what?” asked Tolika. 

“Here; I’ll show you.” 

Pîj showed her a picture on her computer. The picture showed a vast brown landscape- Erth, Tolika guessed. The sky was beautiful there. In the middle of the landscape was a small, shabby building. There were no signs of life except the occasional plant or small animal. 

“Kith lithed there?” Tolika asked. “Alone?” 

Pîj nodded. “He was an _____ when Shirou met him. After ______, he...” 

Tolika had stopped listening to Pîj. She didn’t know exactly how long a “year” was, but she knew it was somewhat longer than a yakal. Had Kith seriously been alone for so long?

A raq’ien wouldn’t survive a quarter of that time isolated- less if they didn’t sleep, which was common. Even a few sukus of complete isolation would be incredibly painful. On Halawethu, this wasn’t a major issue- raq’iens naturally clustered into groups of varying sizes. Out here in space, people were essentially tied to their crewmates. Not literally, of course, but with rules, guidelines, and the threat of an agonizing death. 

Tolika tried to voice this. “Ith he was raq’ien,” she said, “he’d... is dead now.” 

Pîj scrunched her face. “He’d be dead?” she asked. “He had water.” 

“Nobody there with him.” she said. 

“Kith can take care of himself.” said Pîj. 

Tolika paused, trying to figure out what she said. “Not that.” she said. “If we don’t see people- don’t talk- we... hurt and die.” This was really hard to explain. 

“You just die?” asked Pîj. 

“Slowly.” said Tolika. 

“Oh.” Pîj was silent for a moment. “I guess it’s not really a _______ for you, then. Being touch-starved. Well, I don’t know if...” 

Pîj kept rambling, but that didn’t matter. She knew the truth now. Even if the Guardians didn’t need her, she needed them until her crew came back. Her skills wouldn’t keep her alive if she was alone. Nothing would. 


	9. The Hybrid in the Back

Koran was already aware of the isolation issue. Evidently it was well-known enough to be in his database. Tolika told them that she could be left alone for a short time, but they could not, under any circumstances, leave her at the space market. And no, they could not dump her on a random planet or moon, either. 

“We would never do that.” said Shirou. Tolika found herself trusting him. 

Everyone except Shirou and Allora went to the space market. It was huge and full of various species of aliens. It seemed like a normal market to Tolika, but she didn’t question the plan. Koran insisted that they wear disguises, but Tolika didn’t bother. Nobody knew who she was, anyway. 

Unfortunately, Tolika hadn’t brought any money with her to the Kasl. She wandered around the mall, looking for somebody willing to pay her to do something. She ended up in a large cargo area in the back. While Tolika was looking for money there, she saw something- or rather some _one_ \- that made her regret going back here. 

Sitting in one corner was a purplish-gray alien a little shorter than Kith. This one had four long, slender arms and a tail. _Probably a Galra hybrid_ , she thought. The Galra were one of the few species capable of interbreeding with other species, and hybrids were seen occasionally. Several species had four arms, including the unilu Koran was going to trade with. But unilu arms didn’t have a gap between the two pairs. And unilus didn’t have three fingers, hair that spiked upward, or a tail, either. But one species that Tolika was very familiar with did. 

“You’re half raq’ien.” she gasped. She knew he was a male; females didn’t have stiff hair strands. He looked like he’d been there for a long time and would die soon if he wasn’t helped. When he saw her, he spoke, but she didn’t understand him. 

Tolika searched frantically for a translator, eventually finding one in a box somewhere. She also found a light, which she turned on. The hybrid flinched, closing his eyes against the brightness. 

“Sorry.” said Tolika, turning the light away from him. She bent down to talk to him. “How long have you been here?” she asked through the translator. 

“I don’t know.” he said. “Please, help me.” 

Tolika looked at the alien. If he was fully raq’ien, she wouldn’t think twice about helping him. But he was half-galra, tied by blood to a species that caused so much destruction. He probably worked for them as well. But he also had raq’ien blood, which meant he was probably gonna die if she left him.

“Nobody deserves to die like this.” said Tolika. She stood up and held out her hand. “Take it.” she commanded. 

The alien stood up, wincing in pain, but did not reach for her. 

“What hurts?” she asked. “Be honest.” 

“Everything.” he croaked. 

That sounded familiar. Tolika moved her hand a tiny bit toward him. “Take it.” Tolika ordered. She knew she was being harsh, but he needed help. If she was right about the cause of his pain, this was the quickest way to ease it. If it didn’t work, then she’d look for a doctor. 

Warily, the hybrid touched her hand. Tolika wrapped her fingers around his wrist and led him away. His arm was furrier than her own, but otherwise similar to the hands of many men back home. She started rubbing it the way her mother did when she was a kid. He was startled, but soon relaxed. 

“Better?” she asked. 

“Yeah.” he said. “What... how... how’d you do that? The pain... it’s gone.” 

Tolika made a friendly face. “I touched your wrist.” she said. The guy seemed confused, but in no shape to ask further questions.

“Can you walk?” she asked. 

“Yeah.” he croaked. 

“Good.” Still holding his hand, Tolika walked toward the door. The hybrid was weakened, but he could keep up if she didn’t go to fast. He gripped her hand desperately, as if it was the only thing keeping him alive. Tolika tried not to think about the implications of that. 

“How did you end up here?” she asked. 

“I was working on a cargo ship. My crewmates didn’t tell me that they were leaving.” he said. “Once I got in, the door locked and I couldn’t get out. Looked for another door, but it was too dark.”

“Nobody found you?” she asked. 

“Just you.” 

Tolika had the disturbing thought that maybe he’d been abandoned. She knew the Galra Empire wasn’t fond of hybrids. 

“What about you?” he asked. 

Tolika told him the most believable version of the truth. “I don’t have any money.” she said. “I was looking for things to sell.” 

The hybrid grabbed a small cylinder of yellow liquid nearby. “Here you go.” he said. 

“What is it?” she asked. 

“Quintessence.” he answered. “The Empire uses it to fuel their ships. This one was rejected, but people will still pay good money for it.” 

“But if it was rejected, then it won’t work.” said Tolika. 

“Not necessarily.” he said. “I know a guy who works in quintessence shipping. He says often, the rejected batches are just too diluted or weren’t processed properly.” 

“I guess it’s worth a shot.” said Tolika. She reached out to grab it, but the guy didn’t give it to her. 

“I can carry it.” he said. 

“Just give it to me when we’re out.” said Tolika. She was already carrying the translator. 

“Why’d you save me?” asked the hybrid. “I don’t know who you are, but I’m guessing you’re not working for the Empire.” 

“I am not.” she said. “Frankly, I only saved you because I knew you were gonna die if I didn’t.” There was no point in pretending that she was on his side. 

“How’d you know I was gonna die?” he asked. 

“I didn’t know for sure, but seeing as you look like a raq’ien, it was a reasonable assumption.” said the shorter alien. “Full-blooded raq’iens can’t handle stuff like this for long.” 

“Even if you’re right, I’m only half raq’ien. It probably doesn’t affect me.” 

“Dude, do you want to be saved or not?” 

“I do.” 

“Then keep moving.” 

They reached the door that Tolika had gone through earlier. Thankfully, it wasn’t locked. Once they were past that, it didn’t take long for them to reach the mall itself. 

“This is as far as I can take you.” said Tolika. “I can’t exactly bring you onto my ship.” 

“It’s fine.” he said. “Thank you for saving my life.” 

Before Tolika could reply, she heard a loud noise. She turned around and saw four Guardians, an Altean, and a strange four-legged creature being chased by robot security guards. 

“I gotta go.” she said, grabbing the quintessence. “Bye.” 

She thought the hybrid said goodbye, but she wasn’t sure. In any case, she needed to get out of here. 

On the way back to the Kasl, Tolika tried to make sense of the situation. From what she could understand, the beast was an animal commonly found on Erth and the robots had caught either Hënk or Kith breaking some rule. But at least Koran had gotten what they needed before they got chased out. 

Tolika would have to tell someone about the hybrid and the quintessence eventually. Both her crew and the Guardians needed to know about it, even if they didn’t want to. 


	10. The Red Guardian

The Bleid of Mârmorë. Jeez, that was hard to say. They were a secret group of Galra rebels- hence the unpronounceable name. Tolika had heard of them, but never seen one. Now the Guardians were flying toward a base full of them. 

The Bleid’s headquarters was in between a black hole and a massive star. Clearly, they were serious about security. Only two people were allowed to enter the headquarters. Shirou and Kith went inside with the Red Lion while everyone else waited. It got boring pretty quickly. Tolika asked Allora to help her search the database to pass the time- she couldn’t read Altean. 

Finally, Kith and Shirou came back. Something must’ve happened; both looked shocked, and Kith was staring at his knife. Wait a second... that was one of the Bleid’s knives. Tolika had seen it in the database. 

“Where you got that knithe?” she asked. 

“It was my mother’s.” Kith said. 

“It’s the Bleid’s.” Tolika struggled to get the word out. 

“Yeah, I don’t know what’s going on there. They wanted me to give it up, but I _____.” he said. 

Shirou then briefly explained the fight that Kith had evidently just endured. At the end, the knife transformed into a larger sword.   
  
“They said that can only happen if I’m Galra.” said Kith. 

Tolika stared at Kith. Her first thought was that he was lying; he didn’t look Galra at all. Then she remembered how he fought like a Galra. She remembered the hybrid she’d rescued in the space market. Sure, he was tall and more gray than brown, with Galra ears and only two eyes, but otherwise he looked so much like her own people. He even had the distinctive misty sclerae, though his were tinted yellow rather than whitish. 

Eyes varied widely between species. Some had no eyes at all; others had pure black eyes. Many Galras had purely yellow eyes, but some had violet irises. Tolika’s eyes were amber; other raq’iens had brown, blue, or emerald eyes with black pupils. Humans had black pupils too, but their sclerae were fully opaque. The ones Tolika had seen were various shades of brown or dark blue. Kith’s eyes were deep violet surrounded by solid white. 

The idea that Kith was a hybrid was starting to sound less outlandish. 

That was a problem. The Galra were one of the most hated species in the universe, and for good reason. Asking one to save the universe was a risky move at best. Of course, Kith hadn’t been raised by the Empire, but his connection was still there. Tolika was afraid of him. 

Of course, the guy she’d saved was also part Galra. The difference was that the rest of him was raq’ien. Also, he was gonna die if she left him. Kith was a human and thus had no affiliation with her people whatsoever. Besides, could do a lot of damage if he wanted to. 

Koran made sure Kith didn’t betray them... by sending him into a planet-eating alien with Hënk. Said alien was apparently the only source of something they needed called scaltrite. Meanwhile, Shirou, Lans, and Pîj were freeing a very important prisoner. Tolika sat in a small ship and waited for something to go wrong. 

Naturally, something went wrong. 

The massive planet-eating alien attacked Tolika’s ship with a laser. She tried to dodge the laser, but it was huge. There was no way she could dodge it long enough to escape. 

“Hënk!” yelled Kith over the radio. “Fire at its eye!” 

“Are you crazy?” asked Hënk. 

“Just do it!” yelled Kith. “It’s going to hit Tolika!” 

The Yellow Lion fired a laser at the giant alien’s eye. The creature flailed, letting Tolika escape. When she was far enough away, she stopped and turned to the radio. 

“Kith,” she said. “You sathed me. Thanks.” 

“You’re welcome.” said Kith. 

* * *

As bad as the planet-eater was, the robot they were currently fighting was equally worse. Allora had gone to Bâlmerë to get a powerful crystal, only to be attacked by a massive robot with two tentacles and a lot of laser-shooting eyes. To make things worse, half the team was still getting out of a prison. Hënk and the Yellow Lion would have to distract the robot until they got there. 

“I have to __ the ______ alone?” asked Hënk. 

“You have Kith.” said Allora. 

“Yeah, but he’s in here with me!” 

Tolika unmuted her radio. “I’ll help you.” she said. She didn’t like violence, but she sure as heck wasn’t going to let them die. 

“Thanks!” 

Unfortunately, Tolika only had a small energy cannon, which was almost nothing against dozens of lasers. At some point, she stopped trying to shoot the thing and just tried not to get shot. 

Once everyone and their Lions had arrived, they formed Voltron. At that point, Tolika decided to shoot the robot while it was attacking Voltron. That worked, but it didn’t disable the robot. Actually defeating the thing took forever and there were several close calls. 

After the battle, everyone went back to the Kasl and took their gear off. Nobody was hurt, thankfully, but they were all exhausted. The guy Shirou, Lans, and Pîj rescued turned out to be an eight-armed theoretical engineer named Slâv. Evidently he’d annoying Shirou by rambling about something that worried him during the rescue. He was extremely flexible and a bit taller than Pîj. 

“Why is etheryone tall?” asked Tolika in frustration. 

Slâv must’ve had a translator, because he answered the question in her native language. “You’re a raq’ien, right?” he said. 

“Yeah.” said Tolika. 

“Well, raq’iens come from the planet Halawethu, which has a fairly high gravity. Because of this, they evolved short legs, increased bone density and muscle strength, and- actually, the joint alignment has nothing to do with the gravity. Speaking of Halawethu, has it been destroyed?” 

“No,” said Tolika, “why?” 

“I was just trying to figure out what reality we’re in.” he answered. 

“Hold on, “there are realities where Halawethu is destroyed?” 

“Yes.” said Slâv. “In fact, there’s a reality where it’s being destroyed right now because a group of raq’iens tried to rescue me. But we’re not in that reality because it’s one of the realities where I die during the prison break.” 

Tolika had never heard something that was simultaneously reassuring and deeply disturbing. But if he knew about alternate realities, he might be able to tell her something about this one. 

“What about Kith?” she asked. “He said the Bleids said he’s part Galra. Is he going to turn against us or something?” 

Slâv tilted his head. “In which reality?” he asked. 

“The one we’re in right now.” 

“Let’s see... if Kith has met the Bleids and knows he’s Galra, but he wasn’t raised by the Empire, and I didn’t die during the prison break, and Halawethu hasn’t been destroyed, and you’re with Voltron... actually, there isn’t a single reality where you’re with Voltron and Halawethu’s destroyed and I survive the prison break. Honestly, there aren’t a lot of realities where I survive the prison break.” 

“Get to the point!” said Tolika impatiently. 

“Excluding the realities where that robot you just fought kills one of you leaves... thirty-four realities.” he said. “With more being generated as we speak.” 

“Thirty-four?” said Tolika. “I thought there were a lot of realities.” 

“There are billions, but in most of them, the humans currently here either never found Voltron or at least on of them died.” said the alien. “In fact, there are hundreds of thousands of realities where Voltron doesn’t even _exist_.” 

“And we’re clearly not in any of them.” said Tolika. How hard was it for this guy to just answer a question? “So which reality are we in?” 

“I told you, there are thirty-four possible realities. No wait- thirty-five, you’re being impatient.” 

_There’s a reality where I’m_ patient _with this guy?_ , thought Tolika. She didn’t ask about that, knowing that it would only stray him further from her original question. “Is Kith going to betray me or not?” 

“There is a 37.142857% chance that Kith you betray you and/or Voltron. Higher if- what did Koran have for breakfast this morning?” 

Tolika shrugged. “Heck if I know.” she said. “Listen, I’m tired. Thanks and see you later.” 

Slâv kept talking, but Tolika had stopped listening. The only useful information she’d gotten from that conversation was to never ask Slâv to predict the future. At least, not unless you wanted to hear him ramble about alternate realities for an absurd length of time. 

When she was out of range of Slâv, Tolika sighed in exasperation . She would have to learn Kith’s intentions the hard way. 


	11. Unexpectedly Cuddly

Tolika found Kith sitting on the floor outside the training room. He looked worn out; he must’ve just finished training. He looked up at her(hey, for once she was the tall one). 

“What do you want?” he asked. 

Tolika couldn’t exactly tell him that she wanted to know where his true loyalties were. She shrugged. “How you doing?” she asked. 

“Okay.” he said. “I got to ____ ten, which is good. I only stopped because my legs were killing me.”

That was bad. “You need Koran?” asked a concerned Tolika. 

He shook his head. “No,” he said, “it’s a _____ of ______. It just means my legs hurt a lot.” 

“Oh.” Tolika looked at Kith. If she looked closely, she could see the pain written on his body. She didn’t want to just stand there while he was in pain, but there wasn’t much she could do. Unless... 

Tolika pointed to him. “Can I sit here?” she asked. 

Kith shrugged. “Sure.” he said. 

Tolika moved closer to him and lowered herself... onto his lap. Kith was clearly surprised, but didn’t shove her off. 

“Is this ‘here’?” he asked. 

Tolika nodded, aware that he probably thought she was crazy. This wasn’t the first time she’d sat on someone- having four older siblings pretty much guaranteed that. It may have been the first time Kith had been sat on, but whatever. 

Since Kith made no effort to remove her, Tolika made herself comfortable. She leaned back, her head resting on the side of his neck. She laid her legs over his, her feet resting on his shins. She grabbed his arms and held them in her own. Her lower hands were next to his legs. Even through both their clothes, he was warm. 

Kith did not appear distressed by any of this. In fact, he wrapped his arms around her. For a second, Tolika wondered where his other arms went. Then she remembered that he was a human and didn’t have any. She didn’t really care about that. 

They stayed that way for some time. Kith probably wasn’t very comfortable on the hard floor, but he didn’t say anything. He actually seemed quite relaxed. Tolika wasn’t alarmed this time, knowing from the day in the lounge that he wasn’t slipping away. Then she realized that he was gently rubbing his cheek against her hair. 

“You like it.” she observed. 

“Your hair?” he asked. “It’s kinda soft.” 

“Not just the hair,” said Tolika, “erything.” She gestured toward the various places where they were touching. 

“You really think that?” he said. “That I like... hugging people?” 

Tolika nodded. “You didn’t say ‘get oth’.” she said. 

Kith chuckled lightly. “You’re right.” he said. Tolika didn’t know if he was referring to liking hugs or not telling her to get off of him. She assumed he meant both. 

She heard someone walking down the hallway. Kith must’ve heard it too, because he turned his head. “It’s Lans.” he said. Tolika’s peripheral vision was a bit wider than his, so she didn’t need to turn her head. 

The Blue Guardian stopped in his tracks. “Kith?” he asked. “Are you... _____ing_ Tolika?” 

“No.” said Kith as if the idea was absurd. 

“Really?” said Lans. “Because that’s what it looks like.” 

“His legs hurt,” said Tolika, “so I sitted on them.” 

She couldn’t see either boy’s face well, but she was pretty sure they were looking at her as if that was equally absurd. 

“Humans don’t do that?” she asked. It occurred to her that sitting on people might be strictly a raq’ien thing. 

“Kith doesn’t.” said Lans. “He doesn’t like being touched, _____. He doesn’t even high-five us after missions. What did you do to him to ________ hold you like that?” 

“Huh?” asked Tolika. What did Lans mean by that?

“Come on,” said Lans, “there’s no way Kith would let you _______ him unless he was on ____.” 

“I’m not on ____!” Kith snapped. 

“Then what are you on?” 

“The thloor.” Tolika answered the question. Lans laughed, apparently thinking it was a joke. 

The boys went back and forth for a bit until Kith told Lans to leave. Lans went somewhere else, leaving Tolika and Kith on the floor. 

“Where you lithed bethore this?” she asked. This was one way to figure out his loyalties. 

“Uh... Erth?” he asked. 

“Where?” she asked. Erth wasn’t as big as Halawethu, but it was still pretty big. 

“______.” he said. “That means nothing to you. For a while, I lived in a ____ called the Garisën.” Kith then explained that it was a school that taught young people to be warriors and pilots. “Shiro got me in. Said I had a lot of _______.” 

“How old?” she asked. 

“Thirteen.” he answered. He would’ve been a minor by raq’ien standards. Of course, since Kith wasn’t a raq’ien and grew up on a different planet, it was hard to tell. 

“Did you thight?” she asked. 

“No.” said Kith. Judging by his tone, Tolika was right about the age thing. “I was too young. They just taught me how to fly and stuff.” 

Gently, Tolika asked for more information. Kith was normally a secretive person, but he’d let his guard down a bit. He refused to say anything about his family, but mentioned living with Shiro and alone in the desert. Pîj was right about that detail. 

“Pîj said that.” she said. “We raq’iens can’t do that.” 

“Live in the desert?” he asked. Tolika had figured out what that was by now. 

“Lithe alone.” she said. “We’d die.” 

Kith froze. “I didn’t ______... how weak you were.” he said. “We should’ve been more careful about letting you fight.” 

Tolika was mildly offended by that. “Not weak.” she said. “Dasho thought a Galra long time bethore. Guy hit him six times and cut his arm into two.” she said. “He has a hand like Shirou’s now.” 

“Sounds like a bad___.” said Kith. “Maybe we should’ve asked him to come here.” 

“He alnost went with me.” said Tolika. 

“Why’d you tell me that?” he asked. 

“Dasho isn’t weak,” she said, trying to speak coherently, “but he be dead alone in desert.” 

“So you’re not weak.” Kith said. “Just different.” 

Tolika nodded and turned to her side without getting off. “You theel better?” she asked. 

Kith shrugged. “Maybe.” he said. 

“Really?” said Tolika playfully. Something told her that he wasn’t quite telling the truth. 

Kith sighed. “Okay, fine.” he said. “Yes. Seriously, though, why do you _____ on touching people?” 

“I need it.” she said. “Ith I wait, erything hurts and I get sick easy.” 

“Okay,” said Kith, “but why me? Lans or Hënk are the ______ of the team.” 

“You were here.” she said. “And you said yes.” 

Kith grumbled, then rested his chin on Tolika’s head. As strange as it may have seemed, he liked this. Tolika hadn’t learned his intentions, but she’d learned a secret so well-hidden that Kith himself may not have known it. That was almost as good, and she was going to make full use of the discovery. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I guess sitting on a guy is one way to get him to open up- metaphorically and literally.


	12. Friends and Allies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What’s that big room in the Castle called again? If anyone knows, let me know.

They were coming back. 

Tolika had received a message from Krhilade that morning. Her captured crewmates had been rescued and the emergency was over. They would be coming to the Kasl shortly. She jumped and squealed in excitement. 

“They’re coming back!” she shouted. 

“Who is?” asked Shirou. “Your crew?” 

Tolika nodded. 

“Okay.” he said. “I’ll tell Koran.” 

He left. Tolika helped Allora make preparations for the upcoming battle against Zarkon. Since Tolika wouldn’t be particularly helpful in that battle, she planned on leaving soon. Of course, that was dependent on her crew getting to the Kasl.

A suku later, they came. In order to get in, Niq’alo had to call Tolika, who had to tell Koran to let them in. In the grand scheme of things, it was only a minor inconvenience. 

The ship docked next to the Kasl and its entire crew got out. Tolika ran down to the hangar bay and looked at the familiar faces. They were overjoyed to see each other again. Wait a second... 

“Dasho,” she asked, “where’s your arm?” 

“Galra took it when we were kidnapped.” he said. “It feels so weird- almost like I lost my arm again.” 

Tolika smiled. “I can fix that problem.” she said. 

“How?” he asked. “You can’t build a prosthetic arm.” 

“The Olkari can.” she said. “We went to their planet a whole back. I don’t see why they wouldn’t want to make you a new arm.” 

“I’m not sure.” he said. “The arm connects to my own nervous system; I won’t let just anyone make it.” 

“The Olkari are the best engineers I know of.” said Tolika. “They could probably build you a new body.” 

“Okay.” he said. “Let me know when we can get there.” 

Girulan put her hand on Tolika’s shoulder. “Sorry for leaving you like that.” she said. “Normally, I would never do that, but-“ 

Tolika touched the older woman’s shoulder. “It’s okay.” she said. “I was fine, anyway. They seem to like me.” 

“That’s good.” 

“Hey Tolika,” said Zikewu, “remember when you used to grab my arm while I was working?” 

“Yeah...” Tolika wasn’t sure where this was going. 

“Well, annoying as it was, I actually kinda missed it when you left.” 

“I missed you too.” said Tolika. 

* * *

Tolika remembered something from an earlier radio conversation. “Girulan,” she asked, “can you give me that map you stole from the Galra? I think the Guardians would want to see it.” 

“About that,” said her leader, “we kind of lost the map.” 

Tolika was confused; it was unlike them to lose something so important. “How?” she asked. 

“We didn’t have a chip, so we stored it in Dasho’s arm, but the Galra confiscated that when he was captured.” 

“I see.” said Tolika. “Did anyone see the map?” 

“Not clearly.” 

“Hold on,” said the younger woman, “I’ll ask Dasho if there’s anything we can do.” 

Tolika went over to the pilot. “Hey Dasho,” she said, “I have a question about your arm.” 

Dasho looked at his short, elbowless arm. “The Galra took it.” he said. 

“Girulan told me.” said Tolika. “I want to know if there’s any way to recover the map.”

Dasho considered the statement. “There is one thing,” he said, “but it’s a little crazy.”

“I fought a hundred-eyed robot with the Guardians of the universe. I can handle crazy.”

“Okay.” said Dasho, taking a breath. “When the map downloaded, I... felt it. On my arm.” 

Tolika was no software engineer, but she knew the basics of how the pilot’s prosthetic worked. “The signals must’ve gotten sent to your nerves somehow.” she said. “Do you remember what it felt like?” 

“Mostly.” said Dasho. 

Tolika held out her own left arm. “Show me.” 

Dasho touched her arm with his right hand. She felt taps of varying firmness in different places connected by lines. It could be a map... of literally anything. Or it could be random. 

“Have you showed Niq’alo?” she asked. He was the ship’s technical expert. 

Dasho gave a gesture of affirmation. “He couldn’t figure it out.” 

“Come with me.” said Tolika. “One of the Guardians is a tech whiz. She might be able to help.” 

Tolika and Dasho found Pîj in her lab and explained the problem. Pîj’s eyes went wide when Tolika mentioned that the map was in his arm. 

“He felt the map?” she asked. 

Tolika nodded. 

Pîj clicked something on her computer. “Show me.” she said. 

“Can I hathe your arn?” she asked. 

Pîj looked confused, but held out her right arm. 

“Other one.” said Tolika. 

Pîj held out her left arm. Tolika didn’t remember the taps and lines very well, so Dasho ended up doing most of it. Pîj was surprised, but seemingly unbothered by the two aliens poking her arm. She graphed their motions on a 3D model of a arm with her free hand. It was a cool image, actually. 

Pîj looked at the raq’iens’ arms. “You don’t have ____ fingers, do you?” she said. “I’ll have to fix that.” She then altered the model to match a raq’ien hand. She even made the points different colors based on what Tolika guessed was the firmness of the touch. 

“This is a map of Galra bases, right?” she asked. 

Tolika translated the question to Dasho. He said, “I’m not sure. All I know is that those dots are important locations.” 

Tolika translated that for the human. Pîj nodded, then started doing something on her computer. Between what was on the screen and what the girl said, Tolika guessed she was running the map through some sort of algorithm. 

“Can we hathe it later?” asked Tolika. 

“Of course.” 

She heard Koran’s voice over the intercom. “Everyone to the _______; we have guests.” 

“What’s a ‘guest’?” asked Tolika. 

Pidge explained as she put away her work. The two young women walked down the hall in friendly silence. Tolika knew who the guests were. 

Her crewmates, the Guardians, Allora, Koran, and even Slâv were milling around, talking through two translators. Tolika inserted herself into one of their conversations. She could speak both languages well enough that she didn’t need a translator unless they were talking about something technical. But this was mostly just chatter about their adventures in space. Just light conversation between friends and allies. 

By the time Tolika left the Kasl, her crew was officially part of the Guardians’ Coalition. She might miss them, but it was good to be back on her old ship.

Both groups had missions to complete. Pîj gave the raq’iens the still-decoded Galra map. She had an idea what area it showed, but they would have to figure out the specifics. Meanwhile, the Guardians would be fighting Zarkon. 

“Good luck.” said Tolika over the radio. 

“Thank you.” said Shirou. 

**Author's Note:**

> The misspellings of people’s names are intentional; Tolika is literate, but she can’t spell yet. Also, her language doesn’t have separate words for “green” and “blue”, so they differentiate those lions by using objects of that color. No, she is not colorblind.


End file.
